Full Text of 'Joyce House' Letter and Signatories
Full text of ‘Joyce house’ letter and signatories As writers, artists, and scholars of Irish literature and culture, we call upon Josepha Madigan, the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and Owen Keegan, Dublin City Manager, to intervene to save, for the nation and the world, the house at 15 Usher's Island, known to all as Joyce's house of "The Dead", and prevent any deterioration of its fabric. In the decades since Joyce's death, too many of the places that are rendered immortal in his writing have been lost to the city. Let us not repeat this mistake today. 15 Usher's Island is not just another house connected with Joyce. Built in 1775, its upper floors were rented by Joyce's great-aunts in the 1890s and the writer himself often visited them there. Most importantly, it is the setting of "The Dead", widely considered Joyce's and indeed the world's greatest short story. The atmosphere in the house and the way the rooms are configured are mostly untouched since Joyce's time. Turning it into a 56-room hostel would destroy the uniquely valuable interior which still maintains the character of the house so splendidly described in the story. Usher's Island has the potential to become a worthwhile site of literary pilgrimage, a way to inform and inspire new generations of Joyce readers. As we approach the centenary of Ulysses in 2022, we believe that saving this unique piece of our national heritage is within the power of the Government and the national institutions and that it should be an urgent priority.
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